Cutout stand-up doll



July 20, 1954 e. A. OLSON CUTOUT STAND-UP DOLL Filed March 26 1951 .ZivMEA/Tom- GENEV/El/E ,4. 0L 50/V Patented July 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CUTOUT STAND-UP DOLL Genevieve A. Olson, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 26, 1951, Serial No. 217,579

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to dolls and similar figures and more particularly to cut-out dolls and figures.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a cut-out doll, or kindred toy figure, composed of two or more parts, which is adapted to be so folded that it will stand upon a supporting surface with a folded dress member or other covering member serving as the sole support for a separable head member or upper body member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cut-out doll structure, or kindred figure, in which a plurality of dress members or similar covering members may be used with a removable head member or upper body member which does not possess any lower body portion and thereby avoids the confusion normally incident upon attempting to apply dress members or similar folded parts to full length figures whose lower ends normally rest upon supporting surfaces.

Heretofore, cut-out dolls have included body members and removable dress members, particularly of the folding type, wherein the body members have been of full length adapted to engage a supporting surface, and as a consequence of such construction the placing of folded dress members upon such body members and the removal of such dress members therefrom have been in many instances tedious and have resulted in unnecessary tearing and deformation of both the body members and the dress members.

It is consequently the object of this invention to overcome such objections, and this in general has been accomplished by eliminating all of the portions of the body member below the arms and hands.

Other objects of this invention and various features of appropriate construction will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the accompanying drawing wherein one exemplary embodiment is disclosed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a face elevation of a head member or upper body member constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figs. 1A and 1B show certain variations of the upper body member on a reduced scale;

Fig. 2 is a foldable dress member adapted to receive the upper body member or head member of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the dress member of Fig. 2 in folded condition to support the doll vertically upon the surface, the upper body member being disposed in operative position;

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view showing the standing doll assembly of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5A is a similar vertical section using the body member of Fig. 1A or Fig. 1B; and

Fig. 6 is a face view on a small scale indicating the top sheet of a pad of sheets of appropriately stiff paper or kindred material, each of which sheets carries a delineation of both the upper body member of Fig. 1 and the covering or dress member of Fig. 2, from each of which sheets the members may be cut by a child to produce the article of Figs. 3, 4, and 5 or 5A.

Fig. 1 illustrates an appropriate head member or upper body member I0 which is adapted to be assembled with the covering or dress member l2 of Fig. 2 to yield the doll combination seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The upper body member l0 comprises a head section I4 and a body section l5 having shoulder portions I511. and an intermediate chest portion I51). Arm sections l6 depend from the ends of the body section l5 and are directed variably inward to form recesses ll whose upper edges merge into a straight edge 18 defining the lower limit of the middle portion of the body section I 5.

The covering member or dress member l2 comprises a front dress panel 20 and a rear dress panel 2! which are connected together along fold lines 22 constituting the shoulders of the dress members [2 when folded as in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, these shoulder portions being disposed at the ends of a generally elliptical opening 23 adapted to receive the head 14 of the body member l8 and having a curved front edge 24 and a curved rear edge 25. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the sides of each dress panel 26 and 2| below the fold lines 22 are shaped to represent sleeves 2E, and the middle portion of each panel 20 and 2! is preferably shaped and delineated to indicate belt regions 2'! which divide the respective panels 20 and 2i into lower skirt sections 28 and upper bodice sections 29. The bottom portion of at leastone of the panels 20 and 2| is shaped to provide at least two spaced bearing points indicated at 30 in Figs. 2 and 3 so that, when the dress member I2 is folded and spread as indicated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, such bearing points 35 will cause the doll to stand upright and prevent it from tipping laterally. These points 3t may be adequately provided if the bottom of one of the panels is in the form of a straight line as indicated at 32, and, if the bottom of the other panel is curved as indicated at 32c, a three-point mounting results.

In order to retain the upper body member Ill in properly assembled position after the head section [4 and the upper portion of the body section I5 have been inserted through the opening 23, the side portions of at least one of the panels and 2| are notched immediately below the sleeve representations as indicated at 34, such notching in each instance providing a retaining projection whose upper edge, in conjunction with the apex of the notch 34, insures an appropriate bearing point 36 for the respective recess I I of the body member ID. When the arms [6 are thus disposed upon the bearing points 36, the body member [0 is positively supported and retained in the position indicated especially in Fig. 3.

In general, the head section M preferably is made too wide to pass directly through the opening 23, this sizing being for the purpose of preventing the head section I4 from becoming readily dislodged from the opening 23. In order to provide for .easy introduction of the head section 14, a re-entrant point 40 is provided at one side, and the opposite side of the head is formed on and within an are (indicated at 42 in Fig. 1) of which the point 40 is the center. The length of this radius, which is indicated by the elongated arrow 44 in Fig. 1, is substantially the length of the opening 23 between the two fold lines 22. Thus, the upper righthand portion of the head section I 4, as viewed in Fig. 1, is introduced through the opening 23 so that the i e-entrant point 40 bears against the corresponding end of the opening 23. The rest of the head section I4 may then be rotated to move all of the head section l4 through the opening 23, whereupon the body section l5 may be raised into the position of Fig. 3 and the projections 35 moved around the arm sections [6 so that the walls of the recesses I! engage the bearing points 36 and rest upon the upper, inner portions of the projections 35, whereby the body member ID is positively retained in the assembled relationship shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

As indicated on a small scale in Fig. 6, the head member or upper body member ID and the dress member or covering member [2 are appropriate- 1y delineated, as by printing, on a sheet 5!], which may be one of a pad of such sheets, each of which may, if desired, carry a different design. Al-

though the member l2 has been described as having a front panel 20 and a back panel 2|. it is obvious that each panel may carry a dress design or other costume design suitable for representing the front of a dress, whereby each folded member [2 may, in fact, present two different dress designs. Under such circumstances, both panels 20 and 2| will be provided with the side openings or notches 34, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the head section l4 may face in the opposite direction from that illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 and the arms l6 be located outside of the panel 2| to correspond with the arrangement indicated in Fig. 3.

To provide for centering the head or body member ID or supporting it other than by relying upon engagement of the arms IS in the notches 34, a tapered or triangular detent or tab may be used, which tab is shown in Figs. 1A and 13 as depending from the edge I8 between the arms l6 and is adapted to be inserted in either of two short transverse openings in the form of slots or slits 56 shown in Fig. 2 as being provided respectively in the front and rear panels 20 and 2| of the dress member I 2 above or near the belt regions 21. In Fig. 1A, the arms I6 are in the same position as in Fig. 1, whereas Fig. 1B shows the arms depending in such a position that they do not necessarily retain and position the head member 10, the tab 55 and a slit 56 being relied upon for such function. Fig. 5A shows one relationship of these head members when assembled on. the dress member l2, the head member lying in a substantially vertical plane.

Since other specific embodiments of the invention here disclosed will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in. the art, it is intended to protect all of such variations which fall within the scope of the patent claim.

Iclaim as my invention:

A out-out doll comprising: an upper body member having a head section, a shoulder section and arm sections without lower body portions: and a covering member having front and rear panels hingedly connected at the shoulders and providing between such shoulders thereof a head-passing opening, said head section being received in said opening and said covering member having supporting means upon which said arm sections rest to support said upper body member upon covering member, said panels having bottom portions to engage a surface in spread relation to support the doll in upright position on such surface, the bottom portion of at least one 01 said panels providing plural contact points for simultaneous surface engagement to prevent lateral tipping of the doll from said upright position, said head section being in general too wide to pass through said opening, said head section having a re-entrant portion at one side to engage at one end of said opening adjacent one shoulder of said covering member, the other side of said head section being formed within the limits of an are which will pass through the opposite end of said opening adjacent the other shoulder of said covering member as said head pivots on said one end of said opening when the latter is engaged by said re-entrant portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

